Soccer Insider: January 10, 2010 - January 16, 2010

The Los Angeles Sol, WPS's highest-profile club, is going through massive changes. Abner Rogers was dismissed as coach three weeks ago, a move that was never announced by Sol management but became apparent Friday when he was not present at the draft in Philadelphia. Rogers was listed as the Los...

Greetings from the WPS draft, which is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET. Though there are only nine teams, the first round includes 11 picks: Expansion Philadelphia and Atlanta were given an extra slot at the end of the round (both ended up trading them). A trade was announced...

Last night the Insider told you about the light-hearted exchange between new Red Bulls coach Hans Backe and the D.C. United supporter who serves as a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm and is involved in the visa process. This morning, I received an e-mail from the consul....

*Read my story from the draft about D.C. United's roster-building plan, including scouting missions to Brazil and Costa Rica. *Unable to reach a deal to play Mexico in a friendly on Feb. 24, the USSF has scheduled a national team match against El Salvador at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa...

Preki, a two-time MLS most valuable player, and Thomas Dooley, a national team defender who started every match in the 1994 and '98 World Cups, have been elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Entry is gained by being included on two-thirds of ballots submitted by current and former...

North Carolina defender Jordan Graye, a DeMatha High graduate who played in United's youth system and started on two College Cup squads for the Tar Heels. He is an outside back who, if he makes the roster, would provide cover on the right side for Bryan Namoff (recovering from a...

Follow the picks -- and the trades -- as they unfold with regular updates here on the Insider. The four-round draft begins at 2 p.m. ET, with the first round shown on ESPN2. New England has traded veteran defender Chris Albright to New York for the 34th and 48th overall...

Things we're hearing here in Philadelphia..... *Salvadoran right-side midfielder Julio Martinez is preparing to acquire a U.S. visa, which would pave the way for him to join the Chicago Fire and reunite with Coach Carlos de los Cobos, the ex-Salvadoran national team boss. Still no confirmation on an official deal,...

Some thoughts on the United-Union trade that brought Troy Perkins back to D.C....... *D.C. needed a goalkeeper -- badly. Even when healthy, Josh Wicks was not the long-term solution. The jury is still out on Milos Kocic. Bill Hamid is, at the moment, a prospect. Like a great goal scorer,...

D.C. United tonight re-acquired goalkeeper Troy Perkins in a trade that sent Brazilian midfielder Fred, the club's first-round choice (seventh overall) in Thursday's draft and allocation money to the expansion Philadelphia Union. Union had the first crack at Perkins through the MLS allocation process. In order to move up and...

Greetings from Philadelphia, site of the MLS draft Thursday (2 p.m. ET, ESPN2). I am on college hoops duty tonight (George Washington at La Salle) and will shift back into full futbol mode in the morning. On the drive up I-95, the Insider was passed by a BMW driven by...

As part of the Insider's series on United personnel heading into the signing/trading/drafting period, we take a look at the forwards: FORWARDS Jaime Moreno: Pending a new contract, MLS's all-time leading scorer is preparing for his 15th season (14th in Washington). He will turn 36 next week, and although he...

*The latest on the Troy Perkins situation, which first surfaced here on the Insider late Monday: The goalkeeper has written a farewell letter to Valerenga supporters, saying he is returning to the United States for family reasons. An Insider contact tells me that, behind the scenes, his representatives have been...

Washington and Baltimore make the World Cup cut. For now. The committee overseeing American soccer's bid to host the 2018 or 2022 Cup reduced the number of potential cities from 27 to 18 today. The list will be formally submitted to FIFA before the May 14 deadline for countries interested...

*USA forwards Eddie Johnson and Freddy Adu are preparing to make their debuts this week for Greek club Aris, which plays Asteris Tripolis in a cup match Wednesday and Ioannina in a league game Sunday. Both have apparently been cleared to play after awaiting loan issues to be resolved....

*Columbus star Guillermo Barros Schelotto has agreed to a new contract with the Crew, the Insider has learned. Schelotto, 36, had considered returning to Argentina after the Crew sought to significantly lower his base salary, which was $650,000 last year. No word yet on the structure of the new pact....

Might former D.C. United goalkeeper Troy Perkins return to the States after two years with Valerenga in Norway? That's what I am hearing. If it does come to fruition, Perkins would be subject to MLS's allocation process because he is in the national team player pool. United no longer maintains...

Although MLS's final two head coaching openings were filled by foreign imports, including Carlos de los Cobos by the Chicago Fire today, almost every other boss in the league had ties to American soccer when they were hired. (The exception is Colorado's Gary Smith, who arrived from England in early...

As part of the Insider's series on United personnel heading into the signing/trading/drafting period, we take a look at the midfield: MIDFIELDERS Cristian Castillo: Salvadoran was acquired on loan from Mexican club Leon a few weeks ago and should make an immediate impact on the left flank with his touch,...

*Trailing 4-0 in the 79th minute, Mali scores four times to draw host Angola on the opening day of the African Cup of Nations. Defender Bakary Soumare, formerly with the University of Virginia and Chicago Fire, played 90 for Mali. "It is hard to digest anything like this after 32...

With several leagues on break and snow disrupting the English calendar, few U.S. players were in action this weekend: GOALKEEPERS Tim Howard 90 minutes in Everton's 2-2 tie at Arsenal DEFENDERS Carlos Bocanegra in 18, didn't play in Rennes' 2-0 French Cup win over Caen Edgar Castillo 90 in Tigres'...